Ivanhoé Cambridge JV Buys Chicago Office Tower

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

Adding to their bevy of Windy City properties, Ivanhoé Cambridge and its partner Callahan Capital Properties, of Chicago, have acquired 125 S. Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, for about $145 million, the two companies announced late last week.

125 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago

The 576,000-square foot, 31-story office tower is sited at South Wacker Drive and West Adams Street in Chicago’s West Loop submarket and is one block from Union Station, less than three blocks from Ogilvie Transportation Center and only two blocks from a CTA L stop.

Its tenant amenities include a fitness center, conference center, quick-serve restaurant and financial services. It was originally constructed as a headquarters facility for Northern Trust and reportedly benefits from above-standard construction quality.

“We are very excited with the opportunity to leverage 125 South Wacker Drive’s premier location and physical attributes with our planned upgrades to the lobby, elevators and amenity spaces,” Callahan Capital Properties CEO Tim Callahan said in a prepared statement.

Arthur Lloyd, president, Office, North America, for Ivanhoé Cambridge, added: “125 South Wacker Drive is an excellent complement to our Chicago office portfolio composed of premier properties located in the West Loop, Central Loop and River North.”

Other downtown Chicago properties owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge and Callahan Capital Properties are 10 S. Riverside Plaza, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, 180 N. LaSalle St.180 N. LaSalle St. and 515 N. State St., according to a spokesperson. The spokesperson was unable to provide further information requested by Commercial Property Executive.

The seller was MetLife Real Estate Investment, which had purchased the building from Tishman Speyer for $104 million in December 2012, according to information provided to CPE by Yardi Matrix. The Class A tower was completed in 1974 and underwent a cosmetic renovation in 2010.

Callahan Capital Properties focuses on acquiring and managing high-quality office properties in the central business districts of major U.S. gateway cities. Together with Ivanhoé Cambridge, CCP’s office portfolio totals almost 16 million square feet, in New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Denver and Los Angeles.